Reckless Abandon
by Wonderstruck-Ambition
Summary: The town is small, and the people look happy, something they've never seen before. Ally thinks these people might be able to teach her how to build a home. Sequel to Reckless.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the show but I pretty much own everything in this that you don't recognize. Except Kacey because she's real and I don't own her. :)**

**AN: er yeah so y'all wanted a sequel to Reckless and then this happened and it's a little bit of nonsense and I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. I was in love with Reckless but I'm not so in love with this but this is what happened.**

Don't read this if you haven't read Reckless because you'll be lost.

**I honestly don't even know but yeah this is Reckless Abandon.**

xXx

The first thing Ally thinks when they pull into Sherimar Hills is that it's an advertisement for an American Dream. It's small, and quaint, and rather picturesque. Each house has a white picket fence and a brightly colored mailbox and all the businesses seem to be family owned. And it's _nice_, so nice, and for the first time she lets out a deep breath and lets clear air into her lungs.

xXx

She once asked him what a home was, before they were anything serious.

(Although, were they ever not serious at all?)

"A home?" He'd asked right back, nose wrinkled and laughter in his voice. "Why are you asking me of all people?"

"Because you know everything," she'd supplied, although now she was laughing too. "Some things. I just thought you could answer."

He looked up at that, struck by the way her voice was masked, guarded. "I think," he started clearly, not wanting to let her down. "I think a home is where you feel safe, maybe with someone, anyone, you love. It could be the place you return to and leave from in a never-ending loop, or maybe your home is wherever that one thing is, whether that thing is a person or object or building." They let that settle over them and Austin reached over to pull Ally into a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe it takes a while to find that home. It's not always the place we grow up in. So it's okay...if you can't find your home yet."

It's the silent _'I'll be yours' _that sets into both of their hearts.

xXx

It's around two in the afternoon when they pull into Sherimar Hills, and Ally immediately notices how out-of-place Austin's too-expensive car is in this small town. But at the same time, nothing has ever felt more right.

"So," Austin starts once the ignition is off.

"So," She echoes, all her nerve suddenly washed away, leaving only a bundle of fear in the pit of her stomach.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

xXx

She'd come running to him when she left her house, because it's instinct for her to run to Austin, because he can fix everything. At least, according to Ally.

She had stayed the night, and the night after that. Ally refused to go back to her parents' house after what she now called "the incident," and Austin was not at all going to let her.

"He bruised you, babe," He had observed after tears were dried and they were drinking hot chocolate. "Look. You aren't going back there. "

They had to talk about things eventually, because their world couldn't be silent promises forever.

Before she'd come running to him, it had been about three weeks since they had last talked, and both teens were miserable. Austin, for endangering Ally and for leaving her when he knew her dad would hurt her. Ally, for letting him leave and pushing him away.

It had been bad, the night her dad had found out. It's mostly a blur to both teens, but Ally still has the bruises to remind her, and Austin's memories somehow won't leave his mind at all.

xXx

_"I'm not dangerous. I won't hurt you," _He had said, numerous times over the course of their relationship, and every time he said that she followed it up with a reassuring _"I know." _But deep down, towards the end, they both knew he couldn't make those types of promises.

His family was not a _family_. His mansion, (because that's what it was, a mansion) was a _house _but not a _home_. A temporary residence until he could skip town and leave.

(Although before Ally, he knew that leaving was a pipe dream. And before Ally, his desire to leave was not as big. Before Ally, he was pretty much chained to the one, lonely existence. Now Ally was there, though, and his plans were much bigger. And less of a pipe dream.)

Her family was not a family. Her house (a very tiny apartment) was not a _home_. Because a home, as Austin continually explained to her, was a place you felt safe and where the people, or maybe just person, you loved were at.

xXx

Juxtaposition and contrast.

That's what Dez once used to describe them.

"Your childhoods, for example," He had started, brandishing a Red Vine in their direction and waving it between the two of them. "Your childhoods are probably the most different yet similar things ever. Although Austin, I don't know yours as well as Ally's, but from what I've heard from you and your friend Dallas- cool guy, by the way- I kind of feel like I have a bit of an understanding."

Startled, Ally stayed silent, but Austin quietly asked for the redhead to explain.

"Well Ally and I grew up together, right Ally-Wally?" He teased, using her third-grade nicknamed. (That only Dez was allowed to call her, thank you very much.) "And Ally didn't have as many Barbies or My Little Ponies or Littlest Pet Shops or any of the things the girls in our class had. Which was alright," He stressed, "because you turned out just fine, Ally."

"And Austin, we all know that your case was pretty much the opposite. Your family, well...self-explanatory," He had said, blushing like he did when he was nervous, and glossing over Austin's excessive familial wealth. (Something everyone around was gratfeul for.) "But you guys are also really similar."

"Mhm," Trish had piped up. "It's no secret you both hate your families."

(And it wasn't. Austin's family used him to make money. They used his charm and good looks to woo daughters of their business partners or potential clients. (And wives and girlfriends and sisters and mothers and one time the nanny.) Austin knew how to get his way. People, in general, listened to him. All it really took was a well-timed flick of his fair and a few chosen words. Maybe a brush of his hand and the ladies would be putty. It was part of the empire he'd built, his parents had built. Theirs was all in business, and quite frankly he refused to get involved. He knew what his parents did (All kinds of business trusts and corporations) but he really didn't care enough to learn much about it. All he had to do was show up to their stupid functions and conferences and luncheons and dinners and meetings and charm the pants off of, well, basically everyone. Usually it was his dad's business partners that his mother steered him towards, always telling him to smile, sweetie, be good, don't embarass your father and I, remember your manners, work your resume in. So he would smile and be good, try his hardest not to embarass his parents, and he would use his manners while reciting his resume.)

Ally hated her family as well. Her parents (though mostly her father) harbored a deep anger for the Moon family. (He once explained it had to do with them bankrupting him, but Ally had a feeling it went further back than a job he hadn't even liked.) Her father was controlling, and Ally couldn't stand him. He had already ruined her mother's life until she was a puppet of his, a robot, a shell of her former self. Ally was determined not to let him do that to her. Though, really, her life was controlled by him anyway, which made her dread going home at the end of the day. (Although as aforementioned, it's a house, not a home.)

"And you both want to leave," Trish had continued on, now brandishing a Red Vine at the couple as well. "And the entire school knows you two are going to do it."

"What?" Ally had breathed out, near choking on her sandwich.

"The rumor's been floating around for months," Trish explained in an isn't-it-obvious voice. "That you two are going to go to some college together, probably the West Coast. And you aren't coming back? And Austin you're going to refuse to take over your parents' company? Is this not the actual plan?"

Austin shot a look at Ally only to see her face frozen, and he knew that images of her father's angry face were floating through her mind.

"Um," He stalled. "We haven't exactly made any plans, no."

Except, the thing was, they had thought about making these kinds of plans. They'd talked about going to college together or living in a small town and running away. And Austin had told Ally he had no interest in taking over his father's company. They just didn't realize it was so obvious to everyone else.

"Oh," Dez cleared his throat, obviously surprised. "Well. It wouldn't surprise anyone if you guys did. You know. Run away."

"Um," Austin said in a quiet voice, genuinely scared at Ally's blank expression. "Right. So how did the Calculus test go?"

xXx

"There's a motel," Austin pointed out as they walked through the cheerful little town. "Let's go."

But Ally was frozen to the sidewalk and Austin sighed. "Ally?"

"I'm scared," She whispered, and his heart dropped. Was she already rethinking this?

"I am too," He offered, not sure whether or not he was being helpful. "But we're going to be alright."

"We are," She repeated quietly, squeezing his hand. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"Besides, you really don't want to go back, do you?" He asked, and she shook her head vehemently. "Me either. There's nothing left for us there, so the best thing we can do is start over."

And the thing was, they could. Austin had finally turned eighteen, much to the chagrin of Ally-Dawson-who-turned-eighteen-in-December. They were legal, and they had money. (Thanks to Austin emptying his entire filled-to-the-brim account at the bank with his inheritance.) They now had a place to rest for the time being, and it was going to be alright.

xXx

"What if...I didn't go to college," Ally had suggested at the lunch table one day, and the entire circular table fell silent.

"Ally," Austin had said, tone warning.

"I'm serious," She shot back, snappier than originally intended. "I'm serious, Austin. I don't have the money, and my parents don't, but I'd have to go somewhere around here so they could at least get me started and I haven't been able to get a job and I don't want to live with my parents forever, I hate it there, it's hell-" She cut off short, her breathing heavy and Austin looked up at his friends' wide eyes.

"Let's go get some air, love," He whispered, leading her out of the cafeteria, for once not caring if Coach Parr's eyes followed them. He could tell Mr. Dawson for all Austin cared, it didn't matter anymore.

Once they were in the courtyard, he sat her down gently and looked up at the blue sky.

"I applied for you, to some places not in Florida," He said as a way of breaking the ice, but her breathing only hastened and Austin panicked. "And we can go together, somewhere, and...and I'll pay, okay? I have the money, Ally, I can pay for you."

"But I'm not your fucking charity case!" She shouted, fists balled and her face blotchy and red with tears. "I don't want to be dependent my whole life!"

"I know you're not my charity case!" He shouted back. "Goddamnit! I love you, okay, and I see how miserable you are in that house and I know you want to leave so I'm helping you, but if you want to stay in that little hellhole forever, be my guest!"

The air was heavy and it seemed that even the trees around them had stopped letting wind rush through their leaves.

xXx

"Austin. Austin. Austin wake the hell up!" She had shouted (though in a whispery sort of way) into his window and he finally decided to stop ignoring her.

"What Ally, what on Earth could possibly be that important at 3 AM in the fucking morning?" He snapped, irritable from their argument earlier in the courtyard.

"I'm sorry!" She snapped right back. "I'm sorry! You're trying to do all these nice, amazing things for me, and instead of thanking you I yell at you and I'm sorry!" She wailed, wishing he'd just kiss her already and make things better, but that's not how they worked.

"Well why were you yelling, then?" He asked, but helped her jump inside his room anyway. "Hm?"

"M'barassed," She mumbled, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't catch that."

"I'm embarassed, okay?" She half-shouted, near tears once more. "I'm embarassed because you're the son of a multimillionaire couple and you have all this stupid money to blow and I literally can't afford a new backpack and mine is this close to falling apart and you could have anyone in the world but instead you have me and I can't even do anything for you, okay, I-"

She stopped when she felt his strong arms around her, and now she was really crying, hot tears that only made the situation worse.

"And I'm sorry that you have to do everything and I can do nothing, and-"

"And nothing," He whispered. "Hey. I really could care less how much money you have, you know that? I fell in love with the girl whose dad wouldn't drive her home and wanted her to walk five miles when it was supposed to rain. I fell in love with that girl, and I didn't know how much money she had, did I? And I didn't care, and I still don't care, because I love Ally Dawson, not Ally Dawson's bank account, and that is that."

"I hate it here," She whispered into his collar bone (which she still won't admit she has a thing for). "I hate it so much."

"I know, baby girl. I know."

xXx

They passed families playing in the front yards of their houses, little girls playing with Barbies and teenagers riding bicycles on the main road of town. (Appropriately named Main Street.) Each house had a flower garden or vegetable garden or some kind of fruit tree and everyone looked happy, even if they looked a little tired (mostly the adults) or worn out (the parents of young kids) everyone looked happy, and Ally thought that maybe these people could teach her how to build a home.

xXx

When he originally pitched the idea, Ally wanted to scream no no no no no no nope and cover it in big red x's and run as far away as possible from said idea.

But then, it stopped sounding so bad.

Small college, different state, just the two of them. Tell their parents they'd be going somewhere else, only tell Trish and Dez where they actually were, and it would work. At least, according to Austin.

"But how will that even work?" She demanded, voice shrill and hands on her hips. "It makes zero sense!"

"No, see, it makes a lot of sense," Austin said, casually taking a bite from his apple. "My buddy Matt graduated last year, and his situation is kinda like ours. Awful parents, life planned out for him, the usual. He told his parents he was going to NYU or some shit like that, even printed out the fake letters and forms and stuff, when in reality he ended up going to some tiny college in Illinois or something like that. Even changed his last name, and now he's really happy."

"But that's Matt," Ally stressed. "Not Austin and Ally."

"I've got it all planned out," He said casually. "Been doing some research, and there's this nice little community college that would accept us, town's called Sherimar Hills I think. It's really cute, a family town, I'll show you the pictures later. And I looked and they've got literally every degree you've ever even remotely mentioned being interested in, and best of all the tuition is cheap! And as for the dorms, if we wanted one, we'd have to do family housing, but I also looked at some of the real estate stuff and houses and apartments aren't at all expensive, and they're really cute-"

Ally smiled as Austin rambled on, mentioning family towns and houses being cute and she saw the genuine happiness and sincerity in his voice when he talked over his plan, which he'd clearly done major research on, and she couldn't help but think that maybe he knew what he was doing.

"-and get this, the town has Annual Picnic Day and everyone brings a food item and they have this huge town-wide picnic in the park, and there is kite flying and fishing and face painting for the kids, and-"

"It sounds nice," Ally interjected, and Austin looked up from where he was lying on the grass, surprised, almost as if he'd even forgotten she was there at all.

"What?"

"It sounds nice," She repeated. "The college and the town and Annual Picnic Day. I like it, I like how it sounds."

"Yeah?" Austin asked, smile spreading across his face and Ally thought it looked like sunshine. "Because I printed out some brochures and the information for the real estate and college applications, but we can literally walk in and sign up and-"

Ally leaned over and planted a sweet kiss on Austin, effectively quieting him.

"Yes. Looks like you know what you're talking about."

"I always do," He said smugly, biting into his apple and launching into a description of the town's "famous" berry cobbler.

xXx

"You're right," She whispered as they walked up to the motel. "It is really cute here."

"Told you," Austin laughed, pushing open the motel doors and leading her over to the information desk, where a helpful-looking older lady sat. "Hi ma'm, could we book a room?"

"Aren't you two precious?" She cood, looking at their linked hands. "Tim! We've got newlyweds!"

"What? No!" Ally said quickly as Austin chuckled. "We aren't married."

The smile on the lady's face- Betty, according to her nametag- faltered but never left as she guessed again. "Oh. Visiting someone in town, then?"

"Erm...no," Austin mumbled, scratching his head. "We just moved here."

"Oh but you two look so young! What are youngsters like you doing here?" Betty asked, adjusting her cat pin and straightening her curly white hair just a bit.

"Um, we're going to go to the college down the road," Ally supplied.

"Oh how nice," Betty smiled even wider (if at all possible). "But where on earth are your parents?"

Ally stiffened and Betty noticed, as Austin mouthed sensitive subject to her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Tell you what kids," She said in a motherly tone. "We'll get you set up with a room. But if you ever want to...explain...a little more or talk to someone, or need some help settling in, you call this number right here, that's me and my husband." She quickly jotted the numbers down on a little card and paused, thinking. "And here's my son's number, he's down at the college as well, and my daughters for good measure. They work here sometimes, but Kacey- that's one of my daughters- she works at the diner more often than not, so you might run into her there. You call these numbers if you need any help, alright?" She quickly shoved the index cards at them and Austin quickly pocketed them before paying for the room, and both he and Ally could barely keep the grins off of their faces.

xXx

It was at one of the numerous functions Ally accompanied Austin to that she realized how much he hated his reputation as a bad boy.

Whispers followed them around the room, as everyone knew who Austin was, and though no one knew Ally, they knew she was with Austin and that was enough to keep the people away but to fuel the whispers.

Austin tensed, and this wasn't the first time, either. Ally didn't even know what to do, so she just waited for his cue to go outside.

"Stifling," Is what he muttered when they were finally out in the night air. "Can't breathe in there."

Ally knew he'd just be ranting, so she sat down and let him.

"It's like they've got this one image of you, right? This one, perfectly set image. Actually no, screw that, two. Because you've got the fake image you're supposed to make for yourself, and mine just so happens to be 'Austin Moon, son of Michael and Michelle Moon, heir to the Moon Empire of Business Corporations and Trusts, A student and they're pushing for Yale.' And then they all see me as that, as 'Austin Moon, son of Michael and Michelle Moon, heir to the Moon Empire of Business Corporations and Trusts, A student and they're pushing for Yale.' But then they've also got me pegged for a bad boy."

And maybe he is a bit of a bad boy, they both rationalize. He wears a ridiculous leather jacket that she tells him looks stupid (even though she secretly finds it attractive.) And he already has tatoos (even though he wasn't quite at the legal age yet, but that stayed quiet.) And he drives his fancy car too fast down narrow dead-end roads and he has dangerous friends (who aren't that dangerous. They aren't axe-murderers or something. Just...not very clean cut. But people stay quiet.) And he has money (well, his parents') that he blows on stupid stuff (usually to get their attention. But lately, for Ally.) And he's fast and reckless and a little bit mischevious. (And smart and funny and sexy and kind, but Ally keeps quiet about that one as well.) So all in all, he really is a bad boy. (Even if he's very very much a good boy.)

But there's also the fighting, which Ally wasn't aware of until a little while ago. So he was a bit of a bad boy who got into fights with other multimillionaire-heirs or billionaire's sons to protect his name, but he never went into them with the intention to hurt people, just to protect himself. But once that started, he could never erase that form his name. It's as if he carries around a sign with his name on it, Austin Moon, and right underneath that, in indelible ink, is bad boy, and people can't look past that.

Ally is the only one who can, and she loves him both for his exterior shell and what he is on the inside, which is a first for Austin. His parents, of course, used to tell him they loved him all the time, but as he grew older, the words dropped their meaning until they were only said to keep the peace, and the frequency lessened until he was lucky to get an "I love you," on any day but his birthday or Christmas.

So having Ally around, someone who accepted him, folded him into her arms, bad boy persona and all, and told him she loved him even when he didn't deserve it, that was all new territory for Austin, and he didn't know how to deal with it at first.

He had a bit of an existential crisis, actually. He'd gone to wallow in misery at Dallas' place, lying on the ground and demanding to be fed pizza. (And maybe he'd even asked Dallas to hold him at one point, but both boys had mommy and daddy issues so really it was nothing new there. (Because sometimes teenage boys need someone to be motherly and hug them. Even if it's their childhood best friend. Who is not motherly. Because he lacks the necessary parts.))

So he and Dallas had spent the entire weekend eating pizza and playing XBox and discussing Austin's trust and love issues and all his other issues because Austin had a lot of them. (And maybe he questioned the meaning of life at one point, but to be fair he may or may not have been drunk.)

And after his existential crisis, Austin felt better. (No he didn't. ) He stopped freezing when Ally accepted him, no questions asked. (No he didn't.) He no longer questioned why the world sent him some type of angel when he belonged in Hell. (He still questioned.)

Because Austin really was a bad boy. (Even if Ally maintained that he was a very very good boy.) It wasn't the leather jacket. (It helped.) Or the car. (But that helped too.) Hell, it wasn't even his tattoos. (Eleven of them, and they helped too.) Maybe it was the fighting he got himself into. (When he was sixteen he came home nearly every night with a new bruise or a black eye. (But no one fucked with him unless he started it.) ) Maybe it was the fact that he was a bit of a rebel without a cause. Maybe it was his parents ignoring him, and only using him as a pawn in their games. Maybe it was all of this, he tried explaining to Ally, or maybe he was just a bad person.

But Ally was quick to reassure him that he wasn't a bad person, not at all. So he wore a leather jacket. That doesn't make him bad. (Look at the Fonz from Happy Days, she had pointed out. People judged him because he wore a leather jacket but he was such a good person!) So he had tattoos. (Yes, he was underage, but they all had meaning, at least, and he hasn't tattooed anyone's name or face on his butt, so she told him to count that as a win.) So he spent too much time and money on his ridiculously fancy car that he drove too fast. (She really didn't have anything to say except that didn't make him a bad person.) So he got into fights, which really, she didn't like, but he did it in defense. (Some of the time. They glossed over this, because 'look at Rocky.') So he was a rebel without a cause. (So was James Dean in that one movie! She had exclaimed. And that made him famous!) So he had issues with his parents. (A lot of us do, but that doesn't automatically make you a bad person.) So maybe he was a bit of a bad boy, but really, he was a very very good boy.

Because he offered her a ride home, barely knowing anything but her name, because her father was making her walk five miles alone on the rain, and Austin wasn't going to let that happen. So that in and of itself, Ally told him, proved to her from day one that he wasn't as bad as his reputation.

xXx

Ally had lived in Austin's house for the last week of senior year. She had more or less been thrown out of her own house when she reached her breaking point, telling her father she loved Austin and all that romantic comedy crap. (But generally in the movies the daughter doesn't get beat up and called a slut.) (oh well.)

Things came to a head the day of graduation. Ally was mostly an emotional wreck, crying in the bathroom all morning, and Austin was trying to contact his parents to see if they would even bother showing up.

"You're alright, you're doing fine," He'd murmured into Ally's ear, trying to calm her down. "They aren't worth your tears, lovebug. Come on, smile for me! Where's my beautiful girl?" She managed a wobbly grin and Austin cheered for her, though it was for everything, not just one shaky smile. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, kissing her once more. "Go take a shower, we leave in two hours."

Austin's parents were a no-show at the moment, though they would end up slipping in (albeit late) to the graduation ceremony. Ally's mother and father, however, were in attendance.

"Austin," Ally shrieked, clutching his arm and trying to stay calm. "Austin!"

"You're okay, you're alright," he cooed, "I promise you're going to be alright."

From across the room, Trish and Dez saw the scene and began to make their way subtly in between Ally and her parents. The Moons had managed to slip away after mumbled pleasantries after their only child graduated high school.

"Just stay with me, okay?" Austin said soothingly. "He won't hurt you, I promise."

But Austin, unfortunately, couldn't control whether or not Lester walked over to the two of them, and he did just that. Ally tried her hardest not to shake or burst into tears but she was terrified.

"You're a legal adult, love, he can't force you into anything," Austin reminded as Lester dragged Penny (literally) by her wrist to where they stood.

"Allison," Mr. Dawson said coldly as Penny rubbed at her wrist.

"Lester," Austin bit out just as coldly, trying to subtly stand between the father and daughter.

"Stay out of this kid, it isn't any of your business," Mr. Dawson shot to the teenager, and Ally saw the muscles in Austin's jaw visibly tense as he tried to control his anger.

"She's my girlfriend, that automatically makes it my business," Austin returned evenly, and Lester rolled his eyes.

"Keep saying shit like that and I'll punch you," he threatened, and Penny's lips formed a grim line.

"Lester," she warned quietly."Don't-"

"Shut up," He snarled, turning back to the blonde boy, who, although much skinnier, had at least a head and a half on him.

"Bring it," Austin said evenly, and did his best to ignore the growing crowd of interested parents and students around them. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Been living with him, haven't you Allison?" He asked instead, and Ally cringed to hear her full name. "You little slut."

And that's what set Austin off as he launched himself at the older man, fists pounding into his arms and face with as much power as he had in him. It was actually a little scary to Ally, because although she had seen him fight before, never like this. Never with so much anger and hatred and passion fueling his punches, making him look so damn...dark. Scary. She was sure that if she took a glimpse at his eyes, she wouldn't see the clear brown she loved, but cold, dark, black instead.

"Stop," she called after a while, as the bystanders started yelling and the middle was a flurry of fists and shouts. "Stop, you're going to kill each other!"

With the help of both Dez and Dallas, she managed to drag Austin and her father off of each other. Blood dripped down their faces, and Ally was sure the cut over Austin's left eyebrow would scar. Her dad looked much worse out of the pair though, and if it weren't so gruesome, she'd be more thankful to Austin for defending her with such unbridled protectiveness. But it WAS scary, and everything was so dark and awful and suddenly Ally felt shaky.

"Go to the car," She whispered. "I'll meet you there." Usually out of the pair, Ally listened to Austin rather than the other way around, but for once he knew he had better do what she said.

"Alright," he said quietly, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

She just hummed in response, shaken by what had just happen. She stood there, facing her father, until the crowd sensed she was waiting for them to disperse.

"If you thought coming today was a good idea, then you're sorely mistaken," she said coolly, feeling nothing but hatred toward the man.

"Get your ass back home," he said instead, and she almost laughed. Almost.

"I'm eighteen, for one thing, so I don't have to listen to you. For another, that's a terrible way to ask me to come with you, especially after what just happened. And that hellhole is NOT a home. Wherever you are will NEVER be a home to me. I'm through with that part of my life, I'm through with being scared of you, and for all I care you can go to hell."

She took a step forward and took a deep breath. "Home is a place you feel safe and with the people-or person-you love. I thought I loved you growing up, and I thought you loved me. But if you love someone you don't hurt them, and my entire life is just memories of you hurting me and mom. That isn't love, and that isn't home. You are the last person I ever want to be with again, and I say to hell with you." And with that, she delivered a resounding smack to his cheek that reverberated through the entire (now-empty) room. "Goodbye Lester," She said coldly. "Mom."

She didn't look back when she left the room.

xXx

Penny caught up with her outside. "Ally! Ally wait, please!" She had panted, running to catch up to her daughter.

Ally turned around, against her better judgement, because even if she hated her father, she didn't so much hate her mother. (She just wished Penny had done more to save the both of them.)

"Mom," she had barely whispered before she was wrapped in a tight embrace that could only belong to a mother. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

"No, sweetie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Penny blubbered into her daughter's hair. "I should have taken you and run. For years I tried, I tried so hard. Even when we had the money I tried but he always found me, Ally, I'm sorry-"

"Mom," Ally choked out, not letting go. "Can we go somewhere?" Penny stiffened but nodded quickly and Ally grabbed her hand. "Let me tell Austin."

"I've been wanting to meet your boyfriend," Penny gently teased, and Ally blushed.

"Austin," she said gently as she approached the car. He was leaning against the driver side door, legs and arms crossed and sunglasses on as he waited. "This is my mom."

Austin started, obviously shocked by the turn of events. "Um, uh, pleased to meet you mam," He said quickly, clearing his throat. "I'm Austin Moon." He decided adding on 'the boy who beat up your husband' would be in bad taste.

"I know," she chuckled softly. "Thank you, for everything you've done for Ally." And that one sentence was really enough for all of them, because there was so much more to say but none of it could be said.

"I...I wanted to go someplace with my mom, but I should probably get you all cleaned up, hm?" She observed, turning his bloody knuckles over in his hands.

"She can come home with us," Austin suggested, and Penny smiled at the way Austin referenced his home as both his and Ally's. "I can clean up quickly and then leave you two ladies alone. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," Ally said quickly, and they drove off without even wondering how Lester got home. If he got home at all.

xXx

"Betty was nice," Ally whispered as they (well, Austin) dragged their suitcases into their motel room. "Sweet old lady."

"Yeah," Austin grunted against the weight of the trunks. "Great. Ow my hands are slipping-"

Ally rushed over to grab one of the three suitcases he was holding and set it on the bed so Austin could keep his balance. "Woah there, tiger," she teased. "Can't carry everything at once!"

"I just didn't want you to-" He blushed, and looked down, not bothering to finish his sentence.

"I know," she hummed. "You're cute."

"You're cute, too," He said flirtily, and she laughed. "Come on, we have things to figure out. A car to unpack, a college to call, real estate to look at-"

"Berry cobbler to try," Ally supplied, and Austin rolled his eyes but grabbed her hand.

"Once I unpack the car, we'll stuff ourselves on nothing but berry cobbler."

xXx

"Shit, that stings!" Austin muttered as Ally wiped at his cheek with hydrogen peroxide.

"You're the one who got into a fight," she said lightly, dabbing antiseptic cream on his larger cuts. "If you're big enough to fight, you're big enough to deal with the consequences."

From her perch at the kitchen counter, Penny tried to hold in her laughter as she watched the young couple. They worked well together, she observed, they balanced one another. But she couldn't help but notice that this - Ally cleaning up Austin after a fight - seemed to be a practiced routine, which worried her a bit as a mother.

With a bandage wrapped around Austin's arm and a light kiss to his forehead, Ally proclaimed her patient 'all done' and he hopped off the counter to let the mother and daughter talk.

"He'll be the death of me," Ally muttered, but Penny could tell it was more fond than anything. "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea," Penny cleared her throat. "Would be lovely."

As Ally puttered around the kitchen to make their drinks, Penny noticed how different the two existences were. Even simple things like the fact that the Moons' coffee mugs weren't chipped and they had no magnets on their refrigerator, but they were blindingly obvious to her, and she wondered if it was the same for Ally when she first came.

"Nice place you've got here," she started, and Ally flinched.

"It's not mine," She replied as she handed her mother her tea. "Or Austin's, he's just letting me stay here."

"Which is very nice of him. Nice boy you snagged yourself, sweetheart," Penny praised, and Ally blushed.

"Yeah, he's a good one. A bit much sometimes, a little overprotective, and he seems to think he's a bad person, but yeah, he's a great one."

She took a sip out of her mug, which was a plain white, just like the rest of the set, unlike their mismatched, chipped selection at home.

"So. I think we should talk, hm?" Penny asked, but Ally shook her head.

"About what, Mom? There's nothing left to say anymore. Life was awful before Austin, but with him it was almost tolerable, and then things got really bad, and I left to go be with the one person who made me feel safe. That's all there is to it."

Penny pursed her lips in response to her daughter's tirade and paused. "When you were young, maybe one or two, things were different," she started. "We weren't rich by any standards, not really. But we had money, a big house with a front lawn and a pool and we had a dog named Lucky. And I suppose from the outside we looked happy, and for a long time we were. But your father, he...well there's no explaining away what he did, what he does. I tried, but I can't justify it. I tried leaving, so many times. I ran away to my mother's so many times that I lost track. Sometimes I took you with me, but sometimes I just...couldn't. And then when Mike and Mimi Moon bankrupted your father's company and sued him for copyright, when Mike used to be one of his closest friends, things took a turn for the worse and suddenly there was no escaping it. I tried, baby, I tried. But...even waking up in the morning just to deal with your father zapped the life out of me. I couldn't even begin to think about leaving anymore, no matter how much I wanted to. And I'm sorry I turned a blind eye all those years, for what he did to you. That's my one regret, not stopping-" She choked back a sob and Ally patted her mother's hand soothingly.

"I told him today that I was going to see you graduate no matter what. Of course that turned out awfully but I saw you! I saw you walk up on that stage and graduate and I knew, the second you grabbed that piece of paper, that you were done. There's no more of our shitty life for you, and I couldn't be happier for you. Austin is a good boy. Man," she amended, hiccuping. "Man. He's a good man, and wherever you two end up, I know you'll be happy. You don't have to tell me, it might be better if you don't. I just want you to know that I love you, and I'm sorry for not giving you a better life. I'm so proud of you baby girl. So proud."

And for the second time in years, Ally allowed herself to be folded into her mother's embrace, closing her eyes and memorizing this feeling.

xXx

"Hey dolls, what can I get ya?" Their waitress at the local diner, Arnold's, asked them. Her name tag read Kacey and a bell rung in Ally's mind.

"Hey! Aren't you Betty's daughter?" She asked pleasantly, and Kacey snapped her gum before smiling.

"Well bless your heart, that's my mama. How'd you all know?" She asked, adjusting her apron and her pen still poised to take their orders.

"We checked into the motel an hour or two ago. New college students, she told us all about you," Austin explained, and Kacey smiled even wider, just like her mother.

"Mama does that, she just talks on and on to everyone she meets!" She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but Ally could tell she didn't mind at all. "New college students you said? We don't get many out of towners unless they're moving in with relatives or something. The occasional couple who elope and decide to stay, them too."

"No relatives," Austin replied. "We just needed to leave our hometown, and we liked the sound of this place."

"Well Sherimar Hills is pretty small, so in no time you'll know everyone, everyone will know you, and mama will be fixing to make your first child a quilt!"

"We aren't having a kid for quite some time," Ally laughed. "But good to know!"

"Alright loves, so what can I get ya?"

"Berry cobbler, please," Austin requests with a smile. "Heard it's famous."

"Oh it is!" Kacey exclaims. "We've won awards and everything! Just wait til you taste when Macey makes it-"

"Macey?" Ally asked curiously.

"Oh, my twin sister," Kacey laughs. "Though we look nothing alike! Fraternal twins, I got the brown hair and she got the blonde!"

"Macey and Kacey," Austin laughs. "I like this place already."

"Alright loves, our berry cobbler for, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names?" She turns around and waits expectantly for them to supply their names, a wide smile on her face.

"Oh!" Ally exclaims. "How rude! I'm Ally Dawson, he's Austin Moon!"

"Kacey Greene, pleasure to meet ya Austin and Ally. Alright, two slices of berry cobbler on the house for our new family members," She said, throwing a wink there way and floating back to the kitchen before they could protest.

"Yeah," Ally laughs once they're alone. "I like it here, a lot."

xXx

They sneak to her house in the afternoon, when she knows her father is either at work or drunk on the couch. She doesn't stop to check, either, as they pack up the necessary contents of her room into bags, only bringing the things she'd actually want when leaving.

And as quickly as they came, they left, leaving her entire life behind them.

xXx

Leaving is simultaneously the easiest and hardest thing Austin and Ally have ever done. They pack, which in and of itself isn't too hard, because it's just clothes and possessions; they're not really attached to anything anyway.

Then there's the plotting of the route to make sure they get there correctly, which also isn't too hard, but with printing out maps comes college information and town guides and useless papers Ally knows she'll lose.

And then there's the ever-exciting trip to the bank after Austin turns eighteen. (His parents missed that, too.) That was the day where he came into his full inheritance, and also the day he was (supposedly) to begin training to take over the company. Instead, he took Ally and drove as fast as the speed limit would allow him to the bank, where he drained his account of every last penny, and made a new, private account, under both his and Ally's names. (At a different bank, who had a branch in Sherimar Hills.)

That was both freeing and terrifying, and after the transaction of money was complete, the only thing left to do was actually leave. Austin's parents thought he was going to Yale, like they always wanted. He'd even printed out fake forms for them to fill out, just to go the extra mile.

His car was packed, filled to the brim with their stuff. His money was no longer attached to his parents. They'd given the Moons a fake location, Penny had requested to not know for her safety (and she didn't feel she deserved to know) and now all they had to do was actually leave.

They went out one last time with Trish and Dez, and didn't say goodbye as a rule. But they'd slipped them their information and how to find them, their new cell phone numbers and emails and the motel and police station number in Sherimar Hills.

And then they were gone.

xXx

It didn't take long to settle into Sherimar Hills, what with Betty and Kacey popping up every other second.

Ally and Kacey got along right off the bat, bonding over their taste in music and how similar they really were. She showed the couple around the college and helped move them into their "starter apartment" that Betty practically shoved at them.

"Look, it's perfect!" She had crowed triumphantly, and they couldn't say anything but yes.

Pretty soon they had actual neighbors of their _own_, and they were living on their _own_, and everything was their _own_. Just the two of them, not their parents. Just Austin and Ally.

xXx

"This is such a road trip song!" Ally had shouted as they drove away from Miami, sticking her head out the window just because she could.

"What?" Austin had chuckled, leaning over to pull Ally back into the car.

"This song, it makes me feel like a road trip," she explained, turning up the volume.

_"Hold on, to me as we go, As we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave is stringing us along, Just know you're not alone Cause I'm gonna make this place your home."_

"But it's about a home," Austin said in confusion. "So how is it a road trip song?"

"It just is," She said, pouting like a child. "And besides, we're on a road trip to go find our home, aren't we?"

He didn't have an argument to that one.

xXx

"What do your tattoos mean?" She had asked one lazy Saturday in November, as they relaxed on his couch to avoid the cold outside.

"Pick one, and I'll tell you," He answered, not opening his eyes.

"Alright...this one," She said, prodding at the linked chains on his bicep. "What's that mean?"

"I felt chained down, so I got that," He answers easily enough. "Bit stupid but it works for me. Next."

"What does this arrow mean? It's pretty big," She asked, tracing over the arrow that had an upwards point as well as downwards.

"Almost died," He says nonchalantly. "Bad fight. Not pretty. Glad I lived, realized I could either go up or down from there. Next." His tone indicated he didn't want to talk about his near-death experience, so she pursed her lips but filed the information away for later.

"And this?" She asked, tracing over the triangle with a feather-like thing attached.

"My parents hate loud music, so I got Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon' album cover to piss them off."

"Okay...why do you have a ship's steering wheel?"

"Want to make my own path in life, I can guide myself."

"What about RWAC?" She asked, tracing the letters on the outside of his forearm.

"Rebel without a cause," He muttered. "Been called that so many times in my life I thought of just confirm it."

"And the badass dragon?" She teased, tracing the shape on the back of his left shoulder, which he cracked a smile at.

"It looked cool," He admitted. "Same with the skull and anchor on my ankle."

"Okay, what about this?" She asked, tracing the large complicated pattern that trailed down his forearm and started at his right shoulder.

"Dallas' little brother had cancer when he was younger. We let people pay to see us get these to raise money. The more money we raised, the bigger and more painful the tattoos got." He keeps his eyes shut but hears Ally's intake of breath, and he can practically HEAR her think _'he's not a bad boy at all.'_

xXx

Ally babysits on the weekends, because even though they don't need the money, she hates being dependent. And it keeps her busy, until she has settled into enough of a routine to get an actual job.

People in town love them. Kids adore Ally and the way she always has cookies in the cookie jar and all the boys want to hang out with Austin every hour of every day. They fit in well here, and it isn't long before they're telling the story to the people who beg to hear.

By their fifth month in Sherimar Austin and Ally are a bit of a legend, these newcomers who rolled in without any of their past life attached, the boy and girl who ran away and ended up happy.

And it's not a surprise when five months turns into a year and they're having their first summer in Sherimar and Annual Picnic Day and for one year to turn into two and two to three and suddenly this is their life.

Betty unofficially adopts them as her children and gets them started, bringing them dinner for weeks until Kacey and Macey have to remind her that Austin and Ally can cook for themselves.

Graduating college is surreal because it's a smaller ceremony than high school was for them, and they've no parents there, but Austin has Ally and Ally has Austin and they have Betty and her husband Tim and Kacey and Macey and their brother Josh and it's nice to be a part of that family, too.

Austin gets a job, not because he needs to but because he refuses to live solely off of his parents' money forever; it would give them too much satisfaction and defeat the purpose. So he teaches music at the elementary school and Ally writes for the local newspaper and runs a daycare on the side, and it all makes so much sense.

xXx

Trish and Dez call every once in a while, and this summer they're even planning to visit. (They don't know yet, but it's because their best friends are getting married and Austin and Ally wanted _them _there at least. Ally wants Dez to walk her down the aisle.) They say that Mr. Dawson and Mrs. Dawson finally separated, which makes Ally happy beyond belief, and that Mr. Dawson moved back to Tallahassee and no one has seen him since. The Moons were distraught at losing Austin (but more so for losing their moneymaker) and searches for the missing Moon heir were conducted for weeks before they realized it was futile, he didn't want to be found.

And hearing that makes them feel like they've won.

xXx

They're not going to leave. They're happy here and they feel like a part of a family here. They're married now and they've been living here for a good five years, and they have jobs and now they too have a house with a picket fence and a fruit tree and a brightly colored mailbox and nothing else has ever made so much sense.

They have a _home _here.

So they'll stay here, with berry cobbler and old ladies named Betty who are already making quilts for their baby (which they haven't announced yet but Betty has an intuition for these things) and Annual Picnic Day. And it's so much better here, this slow way of life, than anything they left behind.

So when Kacey drops off the quilt her mother made for the baby they will have one day, Austin and Ally just laugh, and put their hands over her still-flat stomach, and spin a tale to the unborn baby about a bad boy (who wasn't bad at all) who loved a good girl (who was a little rebellious) with reckless abandon.

xXx

**AN seriously what the heck was that I don't even know.**

**I like thie verse though, so I might do one-shots based on Reckless-verse if you guys like that? I don't know.**

**Please review, stay safe, be happy!**

xx


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